Not minding the guards posted by the door of the most important building in the town of Mukala, Drogo marched and opened the sturdy oak door. “Hey there Adam! Long time no see!” Drogo greeted the dark-haired bespectacled man sitting behind the table. The white streaks on his hair depict his old age. Drogo grabbed a seat and quickly let himself feel at home.

Taking off his eyeglass, Mayor Adam looked at Drogo and smiled. “Not long enough Drew Morgans. You don’t know how many headaches you gave me, cleaning after your mess. Couldn’t you have at least ease of a little bit on the young ones? Confidence is an important aspect for adventurers, and you broke many when you went on a sparring spree a few days ago.” Mayor Longley sighed.

“I threw away that name long ago. Now, I am just Drogo. The heroic adventurer.” Drogo pulled out a flask of alcohol from his dimensional bag and took a long swig. He then offered it to Mayor Longley who accepted and emptied it in one go.

“Right. Although it was such a shame that you left us when you did, I don’t blame your decision. That last mission was such a shit storm. All of our comrades quit soon after you left.” He said as he handed back the flask. A man of small stature, Adam Longley’s height only reaching up to Drogo’s chest, not to mention his thin figure. People would’ve laughed their assess off in disbelief if they were told that this feeble looking man was his greatest rival back then. Letting out another sigh, Adam Longley continued, his smile not waning. “Seeing that you are back, have you finished your mission already?” He asked.

“Of course! With the White Wolves, something like this is not even a problem.” Rummaging through his dimensional bag, he pulled out parts of the severed head of the manticore and placed it on the floor. “Apologies, I couldn’t get the whole head. Porsha wanted the poor beasts’ eye and brain for her experiments.”

“That is a big one.” Adam looked amazed at the corpse’s head. “An ancient manticore maybe? I reckon you didn’t have an easy time dealing with this one.”

“It indeed gave me some challenge. Haven’t had a heart-racing fight like that for years.” The manticore was not only strong and fast, but it was also used to fighting. Probably due to the experience it got from living all those years.

“I am glad to see that you are still as powerful as you were back in our days. No wonder the young ones lost to you in such a manner.” Adam stated. “How about your other ‘secret mission’?”

“Fool! I am stronger than ever before! I bet I could beat you with ease now that you are cooped up with office duties.” Drogo let out a hearty laugh. Wiping a tear from his eye, he continued. “But seriously, the young ones here ain’t all that bad. Especially that one rapier user. He kind of reminds me of you. I think his name was Esteban or something.”

Walking towards the tea tray, he poured its contents into a cup. “No doubt. Esteban is my adoptive son. Taught him everything he knew. Tea?” He offered. Drogo refused so Adam took a seat once more and sipped the tea. “He is a good boy. Skilled and quick on his feet but is also tenacious and hardworking. All you can ask of a disciple.”

“That is some praise coming from you. But somehow you sound dissatisfied for some reason.” Drogo noticed.

“That kid. For all the blessings the gods above gave him, what he is lacking is confidence in himself.” Adam admitted. “Even with all the strength he accumulated, the skills he had honed, he still doubts himself. Maybe that is a blessing in disguise for the boy trains like he is possessed to overcome the weakness of his heart.” He took a sip once more of his tea. With a clink, he placed it back to its coaster. “Just a month ago, he was able to reach B Rank. Never seen the boy so happy in his life to achieve something. For the first time, I’ve seen him confident in himself, in his strength. He even started to ease off on his training for a few weeks now.”

“Then I shattered it by defeating him in a sparring.” Drogo scratches his head. “Sorry about that.”

Adam got a serious look on his face as he stares at Drogo, then he let out a chuckle. “No need to apologize old friend. It’s good that he realized that there are still people who are above him, both in strength and technique. His confidence will come back in time. I’ve heard that he is in the sparring area of the Adventurer’s Guild house right now. Sparring with other adventurers and acting as a testing instructor for days to further improve his capability.”

“Is he? Now, this is amusing.” Drogo grinned upon hearing what Adam just revealed.

“Why? Do you want to fight him again? I don’t mind. Just go easy on him even by a little bit.” Adam asked.

“No. Not me. If he is there right now, he will surely meet someone interesting.” Drogo answered as a certain person is on his mind. Sadly he asked Claus to deliver his instruction before he left, seeing the two of them clash with all their strength will be a sight to see.

“Oh? Someone you knew perhaps?” Adam was visibly interested.

“Someone I met recently. I suggest we go watch. I am sure you wouldn’t want to miss this.” He answered while smiling at his old friend.

+++

Upon reaching the sparring area, Artreus saw the training instructor, patiently standing at the center of the sandy arena. So, a test of strength. What a surprise. Artreus mockingly thought to himself. As a Paladin or an Adventurer, strength and skill are important, so it is only natural that a test of strength is in order.

Although what Claus whispered to him before he entered the sparring area bothered him. Show the instructor what you got, but only use Aura. That’s what Drogo told him to say to me before he ran off to gods know where.

To show everything but not use everything at my disposal. Doesn’t that contradict itself? No matter. The bald barbarian never showed any ill will. So it would not be bad to heed his advice.

“So you’re the new applicant?” The trainer said. The trainer is a tall dark-haired man with a build that is not that different from Artreus. His sleeveless shirt revealed his muscular arms, the absence of scars is a surprise considering the number of battles adventurers go through, and since he was able to become a testing instructor, Artreus could only imagine how many battles this man was able to overcome unscathed. Which only means that the man before him is strong.

“Yes. I am. My name is Artreus.” He introduced himself.

“You are a polite one, Artreus. My name is Esteban. I will be the one testing your skill today.” Esteban walked towards Artreus and shook his hand. Upon taking the mans’ hand, Artreus found out that his grip was strong. Thinking that this is a test, Artreus also tightened his grip. After a few seconds, Esteban loosened his grip and let go of Artreus’ hand. “That was quite a grip. I reckon that you are strong.” Esteban seemed pleased. “This will do. I was expecting a few nobles today, but it seems the gods are smiling upon me today and sent me someone better.” Artreus was confused about what he is talking about, but he continued to listen. Being polite will not hurt anyone. “What do you want to use? Seeing that you have a sword on your hip, would you like to use it in our spar?” Then as if he remembered something, he began hitting his head. “Stupid. He is a newcomer and I am the examiner. We should not use a real weapon. Stupid. Stupid.” He murmurs as he kept hitting his head. Then after a while, he breathes in deeply and sighed. As if nothing happened, he spoke once more. “Sorry for that embarrassing display. Please, grab a training sword at the weapon rack at the side. Pick anything that you like and we will begin when you’re ready.” He slowly walked towards the weapon rack and examines each weapon, weighing it in his hand and giving a test swing. He continued to test the swords until he found one to his satisfaction.

Following his lead, Artreus grabbed a wooden longsword and gave it a test swing. Although made of wood, it weighs the same as normal longswords, and even if the edges are blunted, one could still get severely injured if hit the wrong way. Picking one that was the same length as his rune sword, Artreus walked towards the center of the sparring area. Looking around, he saw a few people watching from the sides. There was Claus, the receptionist, and three other normal-looking adventurers.

“Ready?” Esteban asked, thin wooden sword in hand, he is like a child who is unable to stand still as he unleashes a flurry of swings in the air.

Watching his attacks, Artreus expects that Esteban is an agile fighter who will use his speed to his advantage. But being quick is not enough. “Ready.” Artreus grips his wooden sword with both hands.

“Then let’s go!” As soon as he said those words, Esteban quickly disappeared.

Unable to see the opponent, his instincts kick in and he quickly jumped aside, narrowly dodging a lunge attack from Esteban. I was careless! The fight would’ve ended then and there if I was a second late to dodge. Artreus thought as he looked at his torn shirt.

“Oh! You dodge that one! I knew you were different from the others. I must do my best!” Esteban muttered again to himself before disappearing from his sight once more.

Artreus relied once more on his instinct and sidestepped from the attack. On and on he used his all to dodge the lightning-quick strikes of his opponent as little by little he was getting used to it and he slowly finds out the secret behind his opponent’s technique.

After a few more attacks, Esteban suddenly stopped his barrage of attacks. Although he has the upper hand, the instructor is the one who is looking frustrated. “He’s dodging it all. What am I doing wrong? Is my stance not low enough? Am I not fast enough? I never had this problem before other than that monster. Is he as strong as that monster? No that can’t be.” He starts muttering to himself.

What’s with this guy? He keeps on muttering nonsense in a fight. Oh well. Better use this opportunity to strike before he could recollect himself. Artreus thought before lunging towards Esteban. Using his own opponents’ technique, he let his body fall forward, using that momentum, he quickly lunged at the still unfocused Esteban, and while his version was slower, it was enough to close the distance in a blink of an eye. Upon reaching his range, Artreus swung his sword upward, targeting his opponent’s body. He was sure that it would connect but suddenly, the unfocused Esteban easily dodged his attack. Overextended and unable to recover on time, Artreus braced himself for a counterattack from his opponent.

A counter-attack that never came as Esteban jumped away instead of punishing him for his mistake.

Shit. It would’ve been game over for me if he struck me then and there. But why didn’t he? Artreus thought to himself. If it was his comrades back then that he is sparring with, he would’ve already been down for the count. ‘To go easy on your opponent is the same as not giving them proper respect’ is what Devin always say after he beats Artreus to a pulp whenever they spar. No more going easy. I will give it my all. Artreus thought as he watched Esteban continues to whisper to himself.

If his opponent wouldn’t take him seriously, he would make him.

Artreus charged once more, but this time, his final step before coming into range was Amplified by his Aura, giving him a needed speed boost. He swung his sword once more, but this time, Esteban didn’t have time to dodge and was forced to block his attack. Finally, able to clash sword with his opponent for the first time, he continued to rain down attacks, unwilling to let Esteban go. “Caught you, you bastard!” Artreus said with gritted teeth.

“Shit! I knew it!” Esteban yelped while he blocked each attack of Artreus. “Damn it. That Aura technique. You must be that man’s student! This time I will not lose!” He yelled as if he is trying to convince himself.

Artreus then felt all of his attacks begin to slide off Esteban’s sword. This is like Moira’s technique! If this continues, he will be open to another counterattack. He needs to change the tempo.

Artreus swung his sword once more, but this time, he intentionally missed his opponent, throwing Esteban’s tempo off, turning his back towards the opponent to bait him to attack. Esteban took the bait and stabbed at him, but this time, Artreus anticipated it and ducked under his opponents’ sword. Using the momentum of his earlier swing, he performed a leg sweep. Esteban saw it coming and jumped to the air.

Just as planned.

“Got you now! Try to dodge this!” Artreus declared triumphantly. There is no way his opponent will be able to dodge him now that he is in mid-air. Unfortunately, he was wrong again.

With his free hand, Esteban cast his magic. “GUST!” A strong wind pushed Artreus back while also propelling Esteban away to safety.

A sword mage! But this is not the time to be amazed by the proficiency of his opponent with both the sword and magic. There is something else that is bothering him.

The way he cast Gust, it was almost instantaneous! There is no way that was possible. Esteban doesn’t feel like he was high tier mage who can cast near-instant spells with lower-tier magic. Unless he expected all that has happened and began casting it beforehand.

Honestly, Artreus doesn’t know which is scarier.

“Sorry. I used magic in a sword fight. You scared me there.” Esteban stated.

Swords pointed at each other, both of them try to figure out how to break through each other’s defense. For almost a minute, none of them dared to attack.

As tense seconds go by, the first one to break the silence was Esteban. “You seem to be aware of my fighting style. Did your master tell you about me?” He asked.

What is he talking about? What master? Shit. Don’t be swept into his flow Artreus. Focus on the match. “Stop talking nonsense and fight.” Things will not change it doesn’t do anything. So Artreus was about to kick it up a notch.

Earlier he was using his Aura sparingly, to confuse his opponent. But this time, he is going to use it in full. Igniting the life force within his body, he let as much Aura that his body could handle and let it envelop his body. Esteban seems to be aware of what he is doing as he was also using Reinforcement. It is much like Aura where he is using his mana to empower his body, increasing his physical abilities. But unlike Aura, it does not improve his defense.

It's time for the main even huh? Artreus thought. There is no more holding back. Time to see the extent of his current strength.

Both of them charged at each other at the same time. Artreus attacked as soon as they step in range, the flurry of exchanges commenced. Like a choreographed dance, both fighters alternated between dodging and counterattacking each other’s attacks, and it only takes one wrong step for the dance to end.

Finding an opening, Artreus quickly took a swipe at his opponent, but as expected, Esteban agilely dodges, swerving under his attack, and delivered an attack of his own. Artreus, in turn, twisted his body, narrowly dodging a stab directed at his face, letting the blunted blade brush his cheeks. Then using the momentum of his turn, he delivered a back kick to his opponent’s gut, which was subsequently dodged as Esteban sidestepped the attack and swung his sword towards his extended foot. With an upward swing at an awkward stance, Artreus blocked the attack then connected a shoulder tackled at Esteban, which sent the man reeling back.

This time, I win! Artreus declared in his mind as he swung his sword at the out of balanced Esteban and…

He missed.

What? What happened? He was bewildered at what just happened. But this is no time to wonder. The opponent is still not in a position to fight back.

Quickly regaining his composure, he swings again…

Still missed.

No… There is something wrong here.

He attacked once more to prove his theory. Once more, his attack missed. No. Not miss. It is being guided away from Esteban’s body by an invisible force.

Using Sense, he was able to see what is causing this phenomenon, and there it is. Circling Esteban’s body is a gust of wind magic. It’s not just one, but three gusts of invisible wind magic deflecting any attacks that are directed to their caster.

Artreus quickly jumped back before Esteban could retaliate.

As he wonders how he could break through his opponent’s defense, Esteban spoke. “Why.” He asked. “Why can’t I win?” He sounds frustrated.

“Hey now. Why so angry?” Artreus answered back. “I should be the one frustrated here. That defense magic of yours is like a cheat.” He could probably overcome it using his spells, but he feels like the man in front of him still has something on his sleeve, not to mention his magic is tricky to handle, so he could not tell who would win if they fight in a no holds barred match.

“You know nothing. I should be stronger than you. Faster than you. More skilled. But I somehow, I still can’t win.” He threw his practice sword to the ground in anger.

So does this mean that I won? Artreus thought. But before he could voice his thoughts, a voice filled the sparring area.

“Foolish disciple.” The voice said. “The answer is already in front of you. But you still refuse to see it.” Turning around, Artreus saw who that voice belongs to. It was a short and thin man, but judging by his clothes, he must be someone important. Sitting next to him was Drogo, who is smiling.

Upon hearing his master’s voice, Esteban quickly kneeled. “Master! Why are you here? Aren’t you busy with your work as mayor?” He asked.

So he is the mayor of Mukala. I see. So he is indeed someone important. Now that he thinks about it, the mayor and Drogo are drinking with each other while watching the match. It cemented his belief that being an adventurer has a perk of getting close to those with power.

“Ungrateful child. I came here to see how you are doing and you dare question me? Children these days, so ungrateful.” The mayor shakes his head and reprimanded the kneeling Esteban, whose forehead is now touching the dirt as an apology. “Listen well, Esteban. Indeed, you are ahead of this young man when it comes to almost every aspect of battle. The only thing you don’t have is confidence in yourself. Many times you could’ve won the battle, but you keep second-guessing yourself, thinking that it must be a trap or that you wouldn’t make it in time, and those times that you commit, your heart is not in your attacks, leading to the speed and power of your attacks to be reduced in half.”

True, there were a lot of times that Artreus was open to an attack, but there were no attacks that came. So that is why… This man is lacking confidence that he will connect. While knowing that his opponent wasn’t able to draw his full power soured his mood. He believed that he was matching Esteban in this fight. Still, he learned a lot today.

“But don’t give up hope. This must be a divine blessing that a man who can keep up with you has appeared. Training with each other will push both of you to greater heights. You will have a greater understanding of your capabilities, boosting your confidence. While you.” His gaze was locked with Artreus. “You will gain enough strength to fully utilize your fighting techniques. I noticed multiple instances where your movements seem awkward. Like you are trying to perform a technique that your body is not used to.” With an outstretched hand, he offered. “So come with me. I will show you greater heights that you will never achieve if you follow this buffoon.” He gestured at the man sitting beside him.

Drogo had an annoyed look on his face as he replied. “Hey now. How brazen of you, trying to snatch a person up from someone who is sitting beside you.”

“What can I say. You might be a muscle-bound idiot, but you have an eye for talent.” He teased Drogo. “His fighting style has similarities to mine. It would be a waste to leave him under a man who uses sheer power to overwhelm his foes when a graceful way of fighting is available.” The old man smiled warmly before turning back towards Artreus. “So how about it young man? Would you like to study under me?”

Looking around the now spectator filled sparring area, there is a thought that is bubbling in his mind.

What in heavens shall he do now?